Hasselblad Lunar


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Hasselblad Lunar

APS-C AF digital mirrorless camera • Discontinued

Specification

Format:
APS-C
Imaging sensor:
23.5 × 15.6mm CMOS sensor
Resolution:
6000 × 4000 - 24 MP
Crop factor:
1.53x
Sensor-shift image stabilization:
-
Sony E [18mm]
Shutter:
Type:
Focal-plane
Model:
Electronically controlled
Speeds:
30 - 1/4000 + B
Exposure:
Exposure metering:
Through-the-lens (TTL), open-aperture
Exposure modes:
Programmed Auto
Aperture-priority Auto
Shutter-priority Auto
Manual
Physical characteristics:
Weight:
570g
Dimensions:
142x82x70mm

Manufacturer description #1

18/09/2012 - Hasselblad, manufacturer of the world’s most advanced medium format camera system, has announced a revolutionary plan to market a state-of-the-art, Italian-designed ‘ultimate luxury’ mirrorless, interchangeable lens camera early next year.

Luca Alessandrini Hasselblad’s New Business Development Manager said: “The Lunar is a celebration of the passion that the company’s founder Victor Hasselblad had for photography. We’ve developed this model in the traditional way, using handmade wooden prototypes to ensure superior ergonomics and functionality. This is a camera for both serious photographers and enthusiasts who aspire to shooting with a Hasselblad.”

He added: “Lunar, which can be used in fully automatic or fully manual mode, has been designed to be easy to use and versatile but with all the advanced technology employed in top DSLRs. For the first time the market now has a camera embracing traditional Hasselblad state-of-the-art image capture combined with stunning Italian design features.

And for the first time ever we are using carbon fiber, titanium, wood, leather and precious metals – including gold. The camera grip itself offers unparalleled ergonomics and has been developed to embrace both compact E-mount and the larger professional A-mount lenses.”

The Lunar, which is set for launch in the first quarter of 2013, will be priced circa 5000 Euros and will be available in a choice of standard models plus a variety of exclusive hand grips and precious materials on special order.

Hasselblad will showcase a unique ‘Lunar experience’ at photokina. Visitors to the stand (Hall 2.1 Stand A-021/B-020) will see a ‘snapshot’ of latest work-in-progress designs and wood- en models, purpose-built to demonstrate the company’s pioneering ‘ideal luxury’ camera vision.

Dr. Larry Hansen, Hasselblad Chairman and CEO said: “It has always been my ambition to enable all fans of the iconic Hasselblad brand to have an opportunity to own one of our cameras. The company mission is to develop exceptional products at the very top end of the market segments in which we operate. In 1962 astronaut Walter Schirra took the first Hasselblad camera into space. Walter had painted the 500C’s metal surface black to minimise reflections. Now, in celebration fifty years later, we have developed Lunar – an aesthetically and ergonomically beautiful piece of camera art, complete with colour options and an evocative vintage look and feel, for photography lovers down here on planet Earth.”

Key Lunar features will include:

  • DSLR-like performance thanks to the highest technology APS-C 24.3 MP sensor with 25AF points focusing matched to an Ultra fast Processor with real time image process ing and accurate RAW to JPEG translation.
  • Accurate composition for both still and video in any light conditions thanks to the Ultra-bright 3” high definition display and revolutionary OLED viewfinder that guarantees superior contrast and ultra fast response.
  • One-touch instant full HD video recording to shoot in Auto or fully manual mode. Focus and exposition control plus the connection for an external microphone and the option to use larger A-mount lenses for professional video creation.
  • Instant shutter response (0.02 second release time lag) ten frames per second and an extremely Wide ISO 100 -16000 range.
  • The camera software includes an exceptionally comprehensive set of creative styles, picture effects, scene selections and the smart ”intelligent face registration” making the shooting experience even more fun.
  • Auto HD, DRO and Anti-motion blur mode.
  • An Innovative TriNavi system for DSLR-like tuning, two flash options and Anti dust system complete the Lunar state-of-the-art package.

Added Dr. Hansen: “This new model is the result of meticulous engineering research, culminating in the creation of an unprecedented camera which underpins the Hasselblad mission to pioneer and produce supreme quality across all our products.”

Manufacturer description #2

19/09/2012 - Hasselblad plans groundbreaking Lunar launch

The world’s imaging press gathered at the Hasselblad photokina press conference yesterday to hear breaking news about the company’s plans to launch into new market segments.

Hasselblad has announced a pioneering plan to launch ‘Lunar’, a state-of-the-art, Italian-designed ‘ultimate luxury’ mirrorless, interchangeable lens camera early next year.

Journalists watched as the company showcased its ‘Lunar experience’ using latest ‘work-in-progress’ designs and wooden models, purpose-built to demonstrate Hasselblad’s ‘ideal luxury camera’ vision. The camera will be available in different combinations of precious metals including titanium and carbon fibre – and also leather and wood.

Hasselblad’s advance into new market segments follows a ‘new-dawn’ technology collaboration agreement with Sony. The two iconic organisations will work together in ‘a merger of science and engineering talent’ aimed at achieving new technical and engineering breakthroughs.

Dr. Larry Hansen, Hasselblad CEO and Chairman said: “It has always been my ambition to enable all fans of the iconic Hasselblad brand to have an opportunity to own one of our cameras.”

Hasselblad also announced the launch of its new flagship H5D medium format camera series, complete with a new 24 mm lens and macro converter – and showcased camera prototypes on the booth. The ‘next generation’ H5D features a modernized design and a completely new electronic engine, to pave the way for ultimate quality imaging, for print ready JPEG files, and for a smooth and intuitive user interface. The H5D will ship in December this year.

Manufacturer description #3

A great challenge: reinterpreting a unique style.

Hasselblad has entrusted to Lunar the difficult but fascinating task of reinterpreting the appeal of a myth: the legendary 500C of 1957, the first camera to go into space. A camera that, starting from that moment, has become an object of desire for every photographer around the world. Thanks to this camera some of the most evocative and iconic images of our time have been captured. Today Lunar revives the timeless charm of the 500 through the iconic chrome-plated frame, made smooth and sinuous by the total absence of edges. Even the contrast in colour between the camera body, the lens, and the protruding control buttons, is faithfully reproduced to offer an evocative vintage look with a decisively elegant appeal.

The quest for perfection has been our brand’s mark of distinction since its origin. Our goal is to always attain the best product, even when this means going back to past techniques. A large number of wooden prototypes were crafted in order to create Lunar. Compared to the usual product design based on 3D software models, the use of prototypes ensures a more harmonious and ergonomic development of shapes. The outcome can now be seen by everyone.

A passion for uniqueness.

Talent, patience and elegance with an artisan’s touch. Leather and wood, these carefully selected raw materials, are turned into timeless stylish details recalling the know-how of authentic artisan masters. Traditional skills, the development of special techniques, a passion for perfection: everything comes together to create objects of exceptional quality, unique because they are perfected one by one, different as only the hand of an artist can make them.

Lunar. Vintage and high-tech, Italian design and Swedish tradition for a camera featuring a unique and unmistakable style.

Talent, patience and elegance with an artisan’s touch. Leather and wood, these carefully selected raw materials, are turned into timeless stylish details recalling the know-how of authentic artisan masters. Traditional skills, the development of special techniques, a passion for perfection: everything comes together to create objects of exceptional quality, unique because they are perfected one by one, different as only the hand of an artist can make them.

The latest carbon fiber technology for maximum strength and durability.

Aerospace industry has always contributed to raise the bar of technology and engineering. One of the results of this quest is the relatively new Compression Moulding Carbon Fiber technique. This process combines the strength and lightness of carbon fibers with the precision and design freedom of injection moulding parts. Lunar is the world’s first camera in using this exceptional material.

Machined high-grade aluminum for a top quality camera body.

The latest marketing trend in the camera industry is to manufacture casted magnesium bodies for the sake of light weight. The old-school aluminum is yet much more resistant to corrosion, more durable and much tougher than magnesium, above all when it is machined from a solid block of top quality alloy. Like in our Lunar.

The strongest and most technical coating treatment.

PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) is the cutting edge technology in the field of surface treatments. Developed as a hardening treatment for high speed cutting tools, it has recently evolved into top class aesthetical finishing. It combines outstanding hardness, second only to diamond, with beautiful bright colors.

Titanium Controls for a lifetime.

All main controls are made of uncoated natural titanium, typically used to produce strong and lightweight aerospace components. The two most useful properties of titanium are corrosion resistance and the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any metal. Controls made of this valuable material are guaranteed to last virtually forever without a sign of wear or oxidation.

Carbon Fiber. High-Tech Style.

The carbon grip combines a decisively high-tech look with the exceptional characteristics of resistance and lightness found in this extraordinary material. Available in three different shades of colour (silver, titanium and black), this is the right choice for those who love minimal style and exclusive details.

Natural wood. The warmth of tradition.

Beech, olive, pear and mahogany: all with a waxless matt finish to optimize the grip. The best Italian wood is selected to create grips that come across like paintings of artistic perfection. Attention focuses on the most beautiful wood grain, on the original shades of colour, on the compactness and fragrance of the finest wood. Each camera is a little masterpiece that makes it absolutely unique.

Italian leather. All about class.

The very best Italian leather, including the one used for the most exclusive car steering wheels and interiors for the leading state-of-the-art manufacturers. The possibility to choose from a wide variety of styles and colours. Each grip recounts a tale of class and elegance that your fingers can read by covering the countless paths scored by the texture of these extraordinary materials. The charm of times gone by is revived in a technologically perfect camera.

A formula for perfection.

Careful and meticulous engineering research has led to the creation of an unprecedented camera. The perfect calibration of its body makes it possible for Lunar to support both compact and professional DSLR’s lenses while always ensuring excellent balance. The relationship between user and camera is completely personalised thanks to the possibility to choose the favourite material of the handgrip. Anyone who has the pleasure of laying their hands on a Lunar has access to a sensory experience made of comfort, warmth and perfect grip. An almost magnetic effect that causes irresistible attraction.

A perfect union between camera and man has been a complished.

From the editor

Essentially a restyled Sony NEX-7. The camera body was available in versions with black leather, brown Tuscan leather, carbon fibre, mahogany Italian wood or olive wood grip, and accompanied by a silver Hasselblad E 3.5-5.6/18-55 OSS lens, which was identical to the Sony-branded version. Instead of a 18-55mm standard zoom, the camera could be purchased with Hasselblad E 16mm wide-angle or 18-200mm superzoom lenses, which were also identical to the original Sony-branded lenses.

Special editions (2)

Similar cameras (23)

APS-C • Auto focus • Digital • Mirrorless • Sony E mount
Model Shutter Metering Modes Year
Sony a3000 E, 1/4000 TTL • OA PASM 2013 
Sony a3500 E, 1/4000 TTL • OA PASM 2014 
Sony a5000 E, 1/4000 TTL • OA PASM 2014 
Sony a5100 E, 1/4000 TTL • OA PASM 2014 
Sony a6000 E, 1/4000 TTL • OA PASM 2014 
Sony a6100 E, 1/4000 TTL • OA PASM 2019 
Sony a6300 E, 1/4000 TTL • OA PASM 2016 
Sony a6400 E, 1/4000 TTL • OA PASM 2019 
Sony a6500 E, 1/4000 TTL • OA PASM 2016 
Sony a6600 E, 1/4000 TTL • OA PASM 2019 
Sony a6700 E, 1/8000 TTL • OA PASM 2023 
Sony NEX-3 E, 1/4000 TTL • OA PASM 2010 
Sony NEX-3N E, 1/4000 TTL • OA PASM 2013 
Sony NEX-5 E, 1/4000 TTL • OA PASM 2010 
Sony NEX-5N E, 1/4000 TTL • OA PASM 2011 
Sony NEX-5R E, 1/4000 TTL • OA PASM 2012 
Sony NEX-5T E, 1/4000 TTL • OA PASM 2013 
Sony NEX-6 E, 1/4000 TTL • OA PASM 2012 
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Sony ZV-E10 E, 1/4000 TTL • OA PASM 2021 
Sony ZV-E10 II E, 1/8000 TTL • OA PASM 2024 
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Copyright © 2012-2024 Evgenii Artemov. All rights reserved. Translation and/or reproduction of website materials in any form, including the Internet, is prohibited without the express written permission of the website owner.

Chromatic aberration

There are two kinds of chromatic aberration: longitudinal and lateral. Longitudinal chromatic aberration is a variation in location of the image plane with changes in wave lengths. It produces the image point surrounded by different colors which result in a blurred image in black-and-white pictures. Lateral chromatic aberration is a variation in image size or magnification with wave length. This aberration does not appear at axial image points but toward the surrounding area, proportional to the distance from the center of the image field. Stopping down the lens has only a limited effect on these aberrations.

Spherical aberration

Spherical aberration is caused because the lens is round and the film or image sensor is flat. Light entering the edge of the lens is more severely refracted than light entering the center of the lens. This results in a blurred image, and also causes flare (non-image forming internal reflections). Stopping down the lens minimizes spherical aberration and flare, but introduces diffraction.

Astigmatism

Astigmatism in a lens causes a point in the subject to be reproduced as a line in the image. The effect becomes worse towards the corner of the image. Stopping down the lens has very little effect.

Coma

Coma in a lens causes a circular shape in the subject to be reproduced as an oval shape in the image. Stopping down the lens has almost no effect.

Curvature of field

Curvature of field is the inability of a lens to produce a flat image of a flat subject. The image is formed instead on a curved surface. If the center of the image is in focus, the edges are out of focus and vice versa. Stopping down the lens has a limited effect.

Distortion

Distortion is the inability of a lens to capture lines as straight across the entire image area. Barrel distortion causes straight lines at the edges of the frame to bow toward the center of the image, producing a barrel shape. Pincushion distortion causes straight lines at the edges of the frame to curve in toward the lens axis. Distortion, whether barrel or pincushion type, is caused by differences in magnification; stopping down the lens has no effect at all.

The term "distortion" is also sometimes used instead of the term "aberration". In this case, other types of optical aberrations may also be meant, not necessarily geometric distortion.

Diffraction

Classically, light is thought of as always traveling in straight lines, but in reality, light waves tend to bend around nearby barriers, spreading out in the process. This phenomenon is known as diffraction and occurs when a light wave passes by a corner or through an opening. Diffraction plays a paramount role in limiting the resolving power of any lens.

Doublet

Doublet is a lens design comprised of two elements grouped together. Sometimes the two elements are cemented together, and other times they are separated by an air gap. Examples of this type of lens include achromatic close-up lenses.

Dynamic range

Dynamic range is the maximum range of tones, from darkest shadows to brightest highlights, that can be produced by a device or perceived in an image. Also called tonal range.

Resolving power

Resolving power is the ability of a lens, photographic emulsion or imaging sensor to distinguish fine detail. Resolving power is expressed in terms of lines per millimeter that are distinctly recorded in the final image.

Vignetting

Vignetting is the darkening of the corners of an image relative to the center of the image. There are three types of vignetting: optical, mechanical, and natural vignetting.

Optical vignetting is caused by the physical dimensions of a multi-element lens. Rear elements are shaded by elements in front of them, which reduces the effective lens opening for off-axis incident light. The result is a gradual decrease of the light intensity towards the image periphery. Optical vignetting is sensitive to the aperture and can be completely cured by stopping down the lens. Two or three stops are usually sufficient.

Mechanical vignetting occurs when light beams are partially blocked by external objects such as thick or stacked filters, secondary lenses, and improper lens hoods.

Natural vignetting (also known as natural illumination falloff) is not due to the blocking of light rays. The falloff is approximated by the "cosine fourth" law of illumination falloff. Wide-angle rangefinder designs are particularly prone to natural vignetting. Stopping down the lens cannot cure it.

Flare

Bright shapes or lack of contrast caused when light is scattered by the surface of the lens or reflected off the interior surfaces of the lens barrel. This is most often seen when the lens is pointed toward the sun or another bright light source. Flare can be minimized by using anti-reflection coatings, light baffles, or a lens hood.

Ghosting

Glowing patches of light that appear in a photograph due to lens flare.

Retrofocus design

Design with negative lens group(s) positioned in front of the diaphragm and positive lens group(s) positioned at the rear of the diaphragm. This provides a short focal length with a long back focus or lens-to-film distance, allowing for movement of the reflex mirror in SLR cameras. Sometimes called an inverted telephoto lens.

Anastigmat

A photographic lens completely corrected for the three main optical aberrations: spherical aberration, coma, and astigmatism.

By the mid-20th century, the vast majority of lenses were close to being anastigmatic, so most manufacturers stopped including this characteristic in lens names and/or descriptions and focused on advertising other features (anti-reflection coating, for example).

Rectilinear design

Design that does not introduce significant distortion, especially ultra-wide angle lenses that preserve straight lines and do not curve them (unlike a fisheye lens, for instance).

Focus shift

A change in the position of the plane of optimal focus, generally due to a change in focal length when using a zoom lens, and in some lenses, with a change in aperture.

Transmittance

The amount of light that passes through a lens without being either absorbed by the glass or being reflected by glass/air surfaces.

Modulation Transfer Function (MTF)

When optical designers attempt to compare the performance of optical systems, a commonly used measure is the modulation transfer function (MTF).

The components of MTF are:

The MTF of a lens is a measurement of its ability to transfer contrast at a particular resolution from the object to the image. In other words, MTF is a way to incorporate resolution and contrast into a single specification.

Knowing the MTF curves of each photographic lens and camera sensor within a system allows a designer to make the appropriate selection when optimizing for a particular resolution.

Veiling glare

Lens flare that causes loss of contrast over part or all of the image.

Anti-reflection coating

When light enters or exits an uncoated lens approximately 5% of the light is reflected back at each lens-air boundary due to the difference in refractive index. This reflected light causes flare and ghosting, which results in deterioration of image quality. To counter this, a vapor-deposited coating that reduces light reflection is applied to the lens surface. Early coatings consisted of a single thin film with the correct refractive index differences to cancel out reflections. Multi-layer coatings, introduced in the early 1970s, are made up of several such films.

Benefits of anti-reflection coating:

Circular fisheye

Produces a 180° angle of view in all directions (horizontal, vertical and diagonal).

The image circle of the lens is inscribed in the image frame.

Diagonal (full-frame) fisheye

Covers the entire image frame. For this reason diagonal fisheye lenses are often called full-frame fisheyes.

Extension ring

Extension rings can be used singly or in combination to vary the reproduction ratio of lenses. They are mounted between the camera body and the lens. As a rule, the effect becomes stronger the shorter the focal length of the lens in use, and the longer the focal length of the extension ring.

View camera

A large-format camera with a ground-glass viewfinder at the image plane for viewing and focusing. The photographer must stick his head under a cloth hood in order to see the image projected on the ground glass. Because of their 4x5-inch (or larger) negatives, these cameras can produce extremely high-quality results. View cameras also usually support movements.

135 cartridge-loaded film

43.27 24 36
  • Introduced: 1934
  • Frame size: 36 × 24mm
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Diagonal: 43.27mm
  • Area: 864mm2
  • Double perforated
  • 8 perforations per frame

120 roll film

71.22 44 56
  • Introduced: 1901
  • Frame size: 56 × 44mm
  • Aspect ratio: 11:14
  • Diagonal: 71.22mm
  • Area: 2464mm2
  • Unperforated

120 roll film

79.2 56 56
  • Introduced: 1901
  • Frame size: 56 × 56mm
  • Aspect ratio: 1:1
  • Diagonal: 79.2mm
  • Area: 3136mm2
  • Unperforated

120 roll film

89.64 56 70
  • Introduced: 1901
  • Frame size: 70 × 56mm
  • Aspect ratio: 5:4
  • Diagonal: 89.64mm
  • Area: 3920mm2
  • Unperforated

220 roll film

71.22 44 56
  • Introduced: 1965
  • Frame size: 56 × 44mm
  • Aspect ratio: 11:14
  • Diagonal: 71.22mm
  • Area: 2464mm2
  • Unperforated
  • Double the length of 120 roll film

220 roll film

79.2 56 56
  • Introduced: 1965
  • Frame size: 56 × 56mm
  • Aspect ratio: 1:1
  • Diagonal: 79.2mm
  • Area: 3136mm2
  • Unperforated
  • Double the length of 120 roll film

220 roll film

89.64 56 70
  • Introduced: 1965
  • Frame size: 70 × 56mm
  • Aspect ratio: 5:4
  • Diagonal: 89.64mm
  • Area: 3920mm2
  • Unperforated
  • Double the length of 120 roll film

Shutter speed ring with "F" setting

The "F" setting disengages the leaf shutter and is set when using only the focal plane shutter in the camera body.

Catch for disengaging cross-coupling

The shutter and diaphragm settings are cross-coupled so that the diaphragm opens to a corresponding degree when faster shutter speeds are selected. The cross-coupling can be disengaged at the press of a catch.

Cross-coupling button

With the cross-coupling button depressed speed/aperture combinations can be altered without changing the Exposure Value setting.

M & X sync

The shutter is fully synchronized for M- and X-settings so that you can work with flash at all shutter speeds.

In M-sync, the shutter closes the flash-firing circuit slightly before it is fully open to catch the flash at maximum intensity. The M-setting is used for Class M flash bulbs.

In X-sync, the flash takes place when the shutter is fully opened. The X-setting is used for electronic flash.

X sync

The shutter is fully synchronized for X-setting so that you can work with flash at all shutter speeds.

In X-sync, the flash takes place when the shutter is fully opened. The X-setting is used for electronic flash.

Unable to follow the link

You are already on the page dedicated to this lens.

Cannot perform comparison

Cannot compare the lens to itself.

Image stabilizer

A technology used for reducing or even eliminating the effects of camera shake. Gyro sensors inside the lens detect camera shake and pass the data to a microcomputer. Then an image stabilization group of elements controlled by the microcomputer moves inside the lens and compensates camera shake in order to keep the image static on the imaging sensor or film.

The technology allows to increase the shutter speed by several stops and shoot handheld in such lighting conditions and at such focal lengths where without image stabilizer you have to use tripod, decrease the shutter speed and/or increase the ISO setting which can lead to blurry and noisy images.

Original name

Lens name as indicated on the lens barrel (usually on the front ring). With lenses from film era, may vary slightly from batch to batch.

Format

Format refers to the shape and size of film or image sensor.

35mm is the common name of the 36x24mm film format or image sensor format. It has an aspect ratio of 3:2, and a diagonal measurement of approximately 43mm. The name originates with the total width of the 135 film which was the primary medium of the format prior to the invention of the full frame digital SLR. Historically the 35mm format was sometimes called small format to distinguish it from the medium and large formats.

APS-C is an image sensor format approximately equivalent in size to the film negatives of 25.1x16.7mm with an aspect ratio of 3:2.

Medium format is a film format or image sensor format larger than 36x24mm (35mm) but smaller than 4x5in (large format).

Angle of view

Angle of view describes the angular extent of a given scene that is imaged by a camera. It is used interchangeably with the more general term field of view.

As the focal length changes, the angle of view also changes. The shorter the focal length (eg 18mm), the wider the angle of view. Conversely, the longer the focal length (eg 55mm), the smaller the angle of view.

A camera's angle of view depends not only on the lens, but also on the sensor. Imaging sensors are sometimes smaller than 35mm film frame, and this causes the lens to have a narrower angle of view than with 35mm film, by a certain factor for each sensor (called the crop factor).

This website does not use the angles of view provided by lens manufacturers, but calculates them automatically by the following formula: 114.6 * arctan (21.622 / CF * FL),

where:

CF – crop-factor of a sensor,
FL – focal length of a lens.

Mount

A lens mount is an interface — mechanical and often also electrical — between a camera body and a lens.

A lens mount may be a screw-threaded type, a bayonet-type, or a breech-lock type. Modern camera lens mounts are of the bayonet type, because the bayonet mechanism precisely aligns mechanical and electrical features between lens and body, unlike screw-threaded mounts.

Lens mounts of competing manufacturers (Canon, Leica, Nikon, Pentax, Sony etc.) are always incompatible. In addition to the mechanical and electrical interface variations, the flange focal distance (distance from the mechanical rear end surface of the lens mount to the focal plane) is also different.

Lens construction

Lens construction – a specific arrangement of elements and groups that make up the optical design, including type and size of elements, type of used materials etc.

Element - an individual piece of glass which makes up one component of a photographic lens. Photographic lenses are nearly always built up of multiple such elements.

Group – a cemented together pieces of glass which form a single unit or an individual piece of glass. The advantage is that there is no glass-air surfaces between cemented together pieces of glass, which reduces reflections.

Focal length

The focal length is the factor that determines the size of the image reproduced on the focal plane, picture angle which covers the area of the subject to be photographed, depth of field, etc.

Speed

The largest opening or stop at which a lens can be used is referred to as the speed of the lens. The larger the maximum aperture is, the faster the lens is considered to be. Lenses that offer a large maximum aperture are commonly referred to as fast lenses, and lenses with smaller maximum aperture are regarded as slow.

In low-light situations, having a wider maximum aperture means that you can shoot at a faster shutter speed or work at a lower ISO, or both.

Closest focusing distance

The minimum distance from the focal plane (film or sensor) to the subject where the lens is still able to focus.

Closest working distance

The distance from the front edge of the lens to the subject at the maximum magnification.

Magnification ratio

Determines how large the subject will appear in the final image. Magnification is expressed as a ratio. For example, a magnification ratio of 1:1 means that the image of the subject formed on the film or sensor will be the same size as the subject in real life. For this reason, a 1:1 ratio is often called "life-size".

Manual focus override in autofocus mode

Allows to perform final focusing manually after the camera has locked the focus automatically. Note that you don't have to switch camera and/or lens to manual focus mode.

Manual focus override in autofocus mode

Allows to perform final focusing manually after the camera has locked the focus automatically. Note that you don't have to switch camera and/or lens to manual focus mode.

Electronic manual focus override is performed in the following way: half-press the shutter button, wait until the camera has finished the autofocusing and then focus manually without releasing the shutter button using the focusing ring.

Manual diaphragm

The diaphragm must be stopped down manually by rotating the detent aperture ring.

Preset diaphragm

The lens has two rings, one is for pre-setting, while the other is for normal diaphragm adjustment. The first ring must be set at the desired aperture, the second ring then should be fully opened for focusing, and turned back for stop down to the pre-set value.

Semi-automatic diaphragm

The lens features spring mechanism in the diaphragm, triggered by the shutter release, which stops down the diaphragm to the pre-set value. The spring needs to be reset manually after each exposure to re-open diaphragm to its maximum value.

Automatic diaphragm

The camera automatically closes the diaphragm down during the shutter operation. On completion of the exposure, the diaphragm re-opens to its maximum value.

Fixed diaphragm

The aperture setting is fixed at F/ on this lens, and cannot be adjusted.

Number of blades

As a general rule, the more blades that are used to create the aperture opening in the lens, the rounder the out-of-focus highlights will be.

Some lenses are designed with curved diaphragm blades, so the roundness of the aperture comes not from the number of blades, but from their shape. However, the fewer blades the diaphragm has, the more difficult it is to form a circle, regardless of rounded edges.

At maximum aperture, the opening will be circular regardless of the number of blades.

Weight

Excluding case or pouch, caps and other detachable accessories (lens hood, close-up adapter, tripod adapter etc.).

Maximum diameter x Length

Excluding case or pouch, caps and other detachable accessories (lens hood, close-up adapter, tripod adapter etc.).

For lenses with collapsible design, the length is indicated for the working (retracted) state.

Weather sealing

A rubber material which is inserted in between each externally exposed part (manual focus and zoom rings, buttons, switch panels etc.) to ensure it is properly sealed against dust and moisture.

Lenses that accept front mounted filters typically do not have gaskets behind the filter mount. It is recommended to use a filter for complete weather resistance when desired.

Fluorine coating

Helps keep lenses clean by reducing the possibility of dust and dirt adhering to the lens and by facilitating cleaning should the need arise. Applied to the outer surface of the front lens element over multi-coatings.

Filters

Lens filters are accessories that can protect lenses from dirt and damage, enhance colors, minimize glare and reflections, and add creative effects to images.

Lens hood

A lens hood or lens shade is a device used on the end of a lens to block the sun or other light source in order to prevent glare and lens flare. Flare occurs when stray light strikes the front element of a lens and then bounces around within the lens. This stray light often comes from very bright light sources, such as the sun, bright studio lights, or a bright white background.

The geometry of the lens hood can vary from a plain cylindrical or conical section to a more complex shape, sometimes called a petal, tulip, or flower hood. This allows the lens hood to block stray light with the higher portions of the lens hood, while allowing more light into the corners of the image through the lowered portions of the hood.

Lens hoods are more prominent in long focus lenses because they have a smaller viewing angle than that of wide-angle lenses. For wide angle lenses, the length of the hood cannot be as long as those for telephoto lenses, as a longer hood would enter the wider field of view of the lens.

Lens hoods are often designed to fit onto the matching lens facing either forward, for normal use, or backwards, so that the hood may be stored with the lens without occupying much additional space. In addition, lens hoods can offer some degree of physical protection for the lens due to the hood extending farther than the lens itself.

Teleconverters

Teleconverters increase the effective focal length of lenses. They also usually maintain the closest focusing distance of lenses, thus increasing the magnification significantly. A lens combined with a teleconverter is normally smaller, lighter and cheaper than a "direct" telephoto lens of the same focal length and speed.

Teleconverters are a convenient way of enhancing telephoto capability, but it comes at a cost − reduced maximum aperture. Also, since teleconverters magnify every detail in the image, they logically also magnify residual aberrations of the lens.

Lens caps

Scratched lens surfaces can spoil the definition and contrast of even the finest lenses. Lens covers are the best and most inexpensive protection available against dust, moisture and abrasion. Safeguard lens elements - both front and rear - whenever the lens is not in use.